Dr. Samarth Dilip Patwardhan

Bio

Samarth D. Patwardhan serves as Head of Centre for Subsea Engineering Research (CSER), and Professor in the Department of Petroleum Engineering at MITWPU, Pune, India. His research interests include production and reservoir engineering, enhanced oil recovery, HSE, as well as applying data analytics to the oil and gas domain. Through research grants he has procured; he has been instrumental in revamping the reservoir characterization laboratory and upgrading the simulation lab with industry-benchmarked software tools at the department. He is involved in collaborating with industry to further the academic and research partnerships for the recently commissioned CSER lab, a one-of-its-kind lab established through a common shared vision with Aker Solutions. Further, his current efforts are also directed towards setting up a stateof-the-art research lab for testing various characteristics of Nano-dusts, which span across industries. The lab is jointly funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India (GoI), and Techniche Engineering Private Limited (TEPL), an HSE company based out of Pune, India. He works closely with his undergraduate, graduate and doctorate students on topics spanning from characterizing various rock types using data analytics, to enhanced oil recovery, and applying computational fluid dynamics to problems being faced in the oil and gas industry. He serves as a reviewer on multiple prestigious peer-reviewed journals and funding agencies and is involved in collaborative work on research proposals on multiple platforms, including academia and industry, both at national and international levels. He is the recipient of the 2019 APJ Abdul Kalam MIT WPU Research and Innovation Award, and the SPE 2022 Regional Distinguished Achievement Award for Petroleum Engineering Faculty for South Asia and Pacific Region. Samarth serves as a Member on the Enhanced Recovery Committee (ERC), formed under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), Government of India (GoI), Director on the SPE International Mumbai Section board, Faculty Advisor to the MITWPU – SPE Student Chapter, and a Member on the Energy4Me committee formed for South Asia, under SPE International. Apart from serving as a SPE Student Chapter Faculty Advisor since 2014, he has volunteered for multiple activities within SPE, including acting in the capacity of a judge for Regional Student Paper Contest (RSPC) for all categories (U.G., P.G., and Ph.D.) since 2017, as well as volunteering under SPE Cares initiative. Through industry support, he has been instrumental in organizing the RSPC at the MITWPU campus in 2014, as well as planning and organizing multiple technical workshops, guest lectures and field visits for student members, keeping up with SPE’s mission of disseminating and exchanging knowledge concerning oil and gas industry, to build technical and professional competence in the next generation workforce, thereby bridging the gap between industry and academics.

Over several years, he has inspired student members to undertake activities like tree plantations, donation drives, and cleanliness drives under the banner of SPE Cares, instilling in them a feeling of caring for the planet, and giving back to both nature and society. Under his guidance, MITWPU SPE Student Chapter carried out the first ever “Pink Energy4Me” drive for female high school students in Pune and Mumbai, and the largest ever Energy4Me drive, which was appreciated in the form of a special mention in the SPE publication “The Way Ahead”. This led to a positive impact of having generated curiosity and interest within the high school students, especially females, in considering Petroleum Engineering and upstream oil and gas industry as a possible career choice. His leadership and involvement have led to the MITWPU Student Chapter winning both the SPE Gold as well as Outstanding Awards multiple times.

Prior to joining academics in India, he has worked with Schlumberger Technology Corporation, both in the U.S., as well as in India, in various roles including consulting and well services. Samarth holds a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from University of Pune, a Masters in Engineering Management from University of Missouri-Rolla, a Masters in Petroleum Engineering from University of Tulsa, and a Doctorate in Petroleum Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Madras.